Selling off ONTC would have been $820-million boondoggle

Ontario's auditor general said the provincial government misled Ontarians in its attempt to sell off the assets of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).

Ontario's auditor general said the
provincial government misled Ontarians in its attempt to sell off the
assets of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC).

In her Dec. 10 report, Auditor General
Bonnie Lysyk said the Ontario government jumped the gun in making its
March 2012 divestment announcement to sell off the bus, rail and
telecommunication assets of the North Bay-based ONTC before it had
all the facts in.

“The government made the divestment
announcement before doing a comprehensive business case analysis,”
she said in a release. “As a result, the government did not
initially have an accurate picture of the possible costs and impacts
of the ONTC divestment.”

In what the government sold to Ontario
taxpayers as a $265.9-million savings over three years would actually
cost as much as $820 million in known costs and liabilities.

That's not taking into account the
environmental cleanup of all of Ontario Northland's industrial
properties and the government meeting its legal duty to consult with
area First Nations.

The government thought it could recoup
these costs over 10 years by transforming or selling off assets and
no longer having to subsidy the Crown agency to the tune of between
$70 million and $100 million each year in capital and operating
monies.

The whole divestment move was made
without consultation with affected stakeholders such as customers,
unions, even senior management at the ONTC and its board of
directors.

The Wynne government has since changed
its posture with the creation earlier this year of a special
stakeholders advisory committee under Northern Development and Mines
Minister Michael Gravelle to seek advice from northeastern Ontario
mayors, Aboriginal people and industry.

The auditor general found that the
entire divestment process under Infrastructure Ontario was hardly
clear. Lysyk said there was “no pre-established blueprint for the
government to follow” which only added to the overall uncertainty
surrounding roles and responsibilities for the many players involved
in the divestment process.

In her findings, Lysyk discovered that
the ONTC and the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, under
then-minister Rick Bartolucci, did not have a “trusting or open
relationship” to ensure transparent communication.

“Better communications could have
provided the government with more complete information.”

Nipissing MPP and Progressive
Conservative finance critic Vic Fedeli, in whose riding the ONTC is
headquartered, was quick to pounce.

“I have stated
from day one there would be no savings from this, and today the
auditor has confirmed that,” said Fedeli in a news release.

Fedeli initiated the auditor general's
special report through a request he made last March.

“The auditor told me today that the
Liberals were given her findings two weeks ago. Days later, they
announce a sudden 'transformation.' There’s nothing honest or
genuine about what the Liberals have said or are saying about Ontario
Northland.”

Fedeli claims the Liberal government
made a last-ditch effort to block his attempt to have new redacted
Ontario Northland documents sent to the Estimates Committee.

“Kathleen Wynne
pretends to be open and transparent, yet sends her attack dogs into
committee today to keep the public from seeing these documents. It’s
sheer hypocrisy,” said Fedeli.